Thursday, April 29, 1999Coslet throws out '98 playbook
Wants to make better use of Blake, Smith
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerWhile his critics spent the winter burying him, Bruce Coslet buried himself in the Bengals' playbook and emerged with his biggest offseason renovation in 61/2 seasons and two stints as an NFL head coach.
“This is the most changes I've ever made between seasons,” Coslet said Wednesday, eager to hand out the playbook at Friday night's opening meeting of mini-camp.
“All I can tell you looking up at my board is that the new stuff is in red, the old stuff is in blue, and there's a heck of a lot of red and a lot of the blue stuff is crossed out.”
Coslet didn't want to get specific. The changes probably won't hit fans between the eyes, and Coslet was quick to point out he and offensive coordinator Ken Anderson spend every offseason updating the playbook.
Still, Coslet realized changes had to be made after a 3-13 season in which the Bengals failed to score as many as 20 points nine times.
They didn't want to overhaul the running game, given the team averaged 4 yards per rush and top back Corey Dillon netted 4.3 yards a carry behind a battered line that spent the season in a sling instead of in sync.
But since this mini-camp officially opens the era of the big, mobile quarterback for the Bengals with the arrival of No.1 pick Akili Smith, the club knew it had to fine-tune the passing game.
With the plodding Neil O'Donnell and Paul Justin gone and with a shorter, older version of Smith in Jeff Blake taking the starting job, Coslet and Anderson have reacted.
They did much the same to the running game after drafting Dillon and Ki-Jana Carter a few years back, mixing their best plays from college into the pro playbook.
“We're still going to be multiple,” Coslet said. “We're going to use Jeff's talents to our advantage.”
Look for more out-of-pocket plays from the quarterback. The Bengals already had those but could rarely use them with O'Donnell last season. But Coslet also said: “Jeff is a classic drop-back passer. When he was doing well a few years ago, a lot of that was drop-back stuff.”
Yet the 6-foot-2 Smith, who is about two inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than the 205-pound Blake, is also figuring into the equation.
How much? On their mini-camp depth chart, the Bengals have made Smith No.2 behind Blake and ahead of second-year man Eric Kresser.
While at Oregon, Smith impressed NFL scouts with his accuracy on longer intermediate routes. That 10-to-20-yard pass has given Blake problems, particularly over the middle, where some believe he has vision difficulties because of his height.
The arrival of Smith probably means more down-the-middle routes for tight end Tony McGee, coming off a season with just 40 catches.
Complicating the tweaks in the passing game is the absence of No.1 wide receiver Carl Pickens, who made 82 catches in '98. He'll sit out mini-camp and possibly the season because of a contract dispute.
Speed receiver Darnay Scott is in place on the flanker's side, but the Bengals had to promote six-year veteran Willie Jackson to No.1 at Pickens' spot at split end. Jackson, who has 110 career catches, has just 57 in the last three seasons.
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